Vision of the Cursed
by Madeline S. Quest
Summary: The clans have been destroyed-but Starclan has managed to pull them together again. But soon, horrible things begin to happen: sickness rapidly spreads, leafbare never ends, storms, trees fall down, fires randomly start, and the lake dries up. So four apprentices decide to set out to find what is causing this...and realize that the truth is worse then they feared.
1. Prologue

(Note: there will be no allegiances because characters will come and go a lot, so it would be hard to keep up.)

**PROLOGUE**

"We have failed."

Silence filled the cave. The steady dripping of water could be heard, as the frozen spikes of ice on the roof slowly melted. Pools began to form, but no cat took notice. Some paced restlessly, tails lashing, while others dabbed at the water absentmindedly, and others simply lay on the floor, appearing to be asleep, but nowhere near falling into a doze. Wind howled outside like a wolf, and because of this, none of them heard both, but only one.

A snow white tom stood up and faced that cat who had spoken, who was crouched in a niche by the entrance. He had been one of those who had been pacing, along with adding a few claw marks to the rock every now and then.

"It's not the end yet." He told her. His blue eyes flashed. "It doesn't have to be. We can teach them, train them-"

"How could we possibly tell them something like this?!" A black she-cat near the back snarled, interrupting him. "Do you want a repeat of the three? To find out they're slowly crumbling like sand, dragging every cat with them? No, Cloudtail, better to let them slowly starve or die of sickness."

"That doesn't have to happen!" He pressed. One or two cats looked up hopefully, but most seemed to agree with Hollyleaf. "We could teach them to contr-"

"They're _monsters,_ Cloudtail. Once they find out, it will be the end of the clans."

"The end of the clans has already happened, mouse-brain." A brown she cat grumbled in the corner. Hollyleaf glared at her, but said nothing. Another howl ripped through the night, and a gray she-cat stiffened, then relaxed again. Some cats had stood up to stand with Cloudtail, facing Hollyleaf, but no one stood up for her, most of them because they disapproved of the term _"monsters."_ Changing sides in a heartbeat.

"I'm done here." Hollyleaf said at last. "She padded towards the entrance of the cave. "You don't know what you're doing. You can't even think for yourselves. Trying to save what is destined to die-and has already died once."

A long, dark tom with a silver stripe down his back stood from the large dark mass in another area. They were looking uncomfortable, like they had assumed they would not be welcome, and did not go near any of the Starclan cats. "We may not succeed," he hissed at her. "but we can try."

She turned back to him, teeth bared, maddened by grief and hopelessness, the wind tugging at her tail. "Since when have you sided with Starclan, Darkstripe?!" She screeched. "Do you think I'm heartless?! This hurts me too! But I know there is nothing we can so about it." Her voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. "Don't dwell on dreams, cat of no soul. Or in them, at that."

She bounded out of the cave, and a moment later, a screech tore across the sky and flew into the cave. "Wolves! Run!" This was followed by a snarling sound, a hiss and a bark, and then cats were bounding from the cave, leaping into the wolves in their fury, slashing with their claws and teeth, until there was none left, for they had all been tossed over the side. The cats let out an echoing cry, telling the skies of their victory. Silence eventually fell. A bright ginger tom stood and looked around, eyes full of worry.

"Hollyleaf?" He called. His voice echoed through the mountains, burrowing under the snow, searching. "Hollyleaf!"

There was no reply.


	2. Chapter 1

It was a bad night for a gathering.

The wind was fierce and cold, swaying the trees back and forth. Many creaked threateningly, forcing the cats to huddle together in the center of the clearing. For once they didn't mind, mingling the scents of rivers, moor, pine, and woodland creatures. It hardly provided any extra warmth, but it was the best they could do. Every cat was nearing starvation, some remarkably thin, but not all.

A small, silver tabby apprentice crouched in their midst. Her fur was soft and silky, and it seemed to ripple like water. She was light-footed and soft pawed. Her pelt seemed to radiate a sparkling light, and her muscles were soft. She wasn't strong. She was slim, beautiful, and could _almost_ be mistaken as a kittypet.

Almost.

Her eyes gave away the image. They were a sharp, piercing, calculating ice blue. The held knowledge of a cat moons above her. She looked vicious and cunning, like she could look at you and instantly know everything about you. She could tell you your life-line, like she was given a gift from Starclan.

"She knows_ everything."_

Icepaw flicked her ears, eyes narrowed, annoyed. She hadn't missed the remark. She never missed them, because they were so easy to hear. And yet everyone wondered _how _in _all of Starclan _could she _possibly _hear something so, incredibly quiet. Half of Riverclan were deaf anyway, or so they seemed. Only Watermint seemed to even slightly understand her, and yet she was always rambling away about how Icepaw was a dark omen sent to destroy every cat, blah blah blah. In _Icepaw's opinion_, it was a load of mouse dung, but of course, who believed her?

She returned her attention to the four leaders, who were standing under a tree. The Great Oak-or what was the great oak. They had been taught as kits and then as apprentices, countless times, again and again, of the fall of Starclan. Dark spirits, much more sinister then the cats of the Dark Forest, had swooped in, unexpected, killing any cat they started and stopped, started and stopped, until at one gathering-the last gathering-lightning stuck the great oak, burning it to ashes, signifying the fall of Starclan. The clans had broken apart and fled, but Starclan managed to bring them back together: and here they were.

Cinderstar, the Thunderclan leader, stepped foreword first. "I am sad to announce that Lionstar, one of the only remaining survivors during the battle of stars besides I and few others, has died. He was killed when lightning struck a rock at the top of the hollow and fell on him." There is silence for a few moments, all the cats giving deep respect for the courageous leader, before she continued. "Prey has been running badly. Let us hope that during this cold season, peace will settle upon ourselves. We have one new apprentice, Lightningpaw." Her voice carried pride for her only son. Icepaw twisted around to look at him, but she was too far away, even with her eyesight, which was stronger than most cats.

Heatherstar stepped forward next. "Windclan deeply grieves for Lionstar." She told the Thunderclan leader. Her voice was heavy. "We were good friends, and he has saved my warriors lives more than once. We wish you good luck as clan leader."

As she continued, Icepaw noticed that her fur looked as it was groomed rather carelessly, and her eyes were dull. She couldn't help but have sympathy for the Windclan leader-Windclan had it worst if them all, as almost all of the rabbits and other prey had abandoned their territory from an unknown cause.

"We have three new apprentices." She added. "We welcome Sandpaw, Wisppaw, and Skypaw to Windclan. We also praise them for an exceptional eagle they caught a few days ago. We hope Starclan blesses us and the other clans with more prey."

Sandpaw, Wisppaw, and Skypaw were closer to her, and Icepaw could make out the three skinny shapes. Sandpaw was a dusty pale yellow, her head tilted arrogantly, a gleam in her eyes. Wisppaw was light brown tom, who looked rather embarrassed. Skypaw was a pure white she-cat. She sat silently at the edge of the clearing, her eyes darting here and there, taking everything in. She noticed that Skypaw was skinnier than any other cat at the gathering. She wondered when was the last time she had eaten.

Miststar stepped foreword. She was the youngest of the four leaders, having fought the battle of stars as an apprentice, but she was fair(most of the time). She talked about the lack of prey, the death of an elder who had survived the fall of Starclan, and announced the new Medicine cat apprentice, Vinepaw. He smiled at everyone in a reassuring way.

Then came Shimmerstar. The Riverclan leader. She said nothing for a moment, then began in a hard tone.

"Prey is running well in Riverclan. The rivers are full of fish, as always, and we are having no problems whatsoever."

She began to back away, but before she could end the gathering, a familiar snow colored pelt stood up. Skypaw gazed calmly at Shimmerstar.

"Shimmerstar, please excuse me for interrupting a gathering, but you have forgotten to announce a new apprentice."

Shimmerstar and Icepaw stared at her in equal shock. How had she known? Windclan hadn't been spying on their camp, had they? There was silence for a moment, and Icepaw knew that her clan leader was thinking the exact same thing. Then she let out a low, strangled sound. It took a while for the silver tabby apprentice to realize that it was her name.

Cats turned to look at her, flinching away from her eyes immediately. She wasn't bothered. She was used to it. Shimmerstar dismissed the gathering, and Icepaw turned away, marching silently over the dry lakebed. She could hear Shimmerstar shouting at her, but she paid no notice. She walked up onto their territory and sat by the riverside, deep into their territory, lost in thought. Shimmerstar had been lying about the fish. The lake was drying up fast. And though Riverclans side was completely gone, the rivers were still flowing, thought get never reached the mud that was once the shore. The woodland creatures still hid in the reeds, but they were harder to catch.

Icepaw closed her eyes, wishing she could do something, anything to help.

A loud crash jolted her from her daze, and she looked up to see a huge wave erupt from the shallow water, stopping at her feet, and then receding once more. Icepaw looked down in astonishment. Lying at her paws, flopping feebly, was the largest trout she had ever seen.


End file.
